The 2019 GLAM Lab Book Sprint Created a Blueprint for Cultural Innovators Worldwide
A Thriving Community, Seven Years On
“The Book Sprint was one of the best things I’ve ever done, professionally and personally. We didn’t just write a book; I made lifelong friends, we created a professional support group. A professional family.”
– Mahendra Mahey, BL Labs Manager, The British Library
(during the time of the Book Sprint)
Sprint at a Glance
A Book Sprint is five days of intensive collaborative writing part creative process, part community building. It is facilitated and supported by the Book Sprints Team.
Cultural handbook
16 international GLAM and academic peers (librarians, researchers, technical managers, curators)
Cultural institution leaders, workers making a case for labs, and people interested in running GLAM labs
A practical, open-source guide
THE CHALLENGE
In 2019, cultural institutions were under pressure to digitise and innovate, but practical knowledge was scattered, siloed, and hard to share. Innovators working across libraries, archives, and museums often had no shared toolkit, and no community to learn from. The sector needed a practical guide, built by the people doing the work.
THE SOLUTION
Organisers Mahendra Mahey and Milena Dobreva brought together 16 international experts—librarians, researchers, curators, and technical managers—for a five-day Book Sprint. Using a process built on peer review and collective authorship, the group went from blank page to 40,000-word illustrated and designed book in less than a week.
Main Organisers
SPRINT TAKEAWAYS
Thousands of downloads globally, strategically published under Public Domain (CCO).
Translated into 6+ languages (Russian, Spanish, Arabic, Bulgarian, Greek, Serbian), validating its universal relevance.
Sparked an active global network of over 400 GLAM professionals.
The collaborative validation accelerated authors’ paths to professorships and leadership.
“The process started with a day and a half of discussing and writing on post-it notes. Over the next couple of days, the team had written 40,000 words! This was a very challenging but highly rewarding experience.”
– Paula Bray, DX Lab Leader, State Library of New South Wales
“The creative collaboration, teamwork and consensus building required to produce a Handbook via the Book Sprint method is a perfect fit for the sector and the topic.”
– Judith Broady-Preston, Former President, Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)